Please Excuse Me While I Bang My Head Against This Wall...

Me = just patient enough to be a teacher, but not as patient as I need to be sometimes...

Today I was literally about to gouge my eyes out in frustration during a long division recess tutorial.  Never mind the possibility of mastering the 5th grade material, this is what was driving me UP THE WALL CRAZY today:

Miss Teacher: "Okay, after multiplication comes subtraction. What's 9-8?"
Student: [grabs calculator]
Miss Teacher: "Nope, no calculator allowed for this part, you know this."
Student: [blank stare] "Um..."
Miss Teacher: [beginning to get tense] "Come on, 9-8.  9-8."
Student: "Umm......."
Miss Teacher: "Look at the number line.  Are there any numbers in between 9 and 8?  How far apart are they?"
Student: [muttering under breath, looking at the number line] "11, 12..."
Miss Teacher: "NO!!!!! Come on, 9-8!!!  9-8!!!!"  (almost has a coronary)

Not 5 minutes later...
Miss Teacher: "Okay, what's 8-8?"
Student: [blank stare, grabs calculator]
Miss Teacher: "AHHHHHHHHHH!!!!!!" tears out hair, shakes student silly...
^not really.  But I was THIS CLOSE!!!!!!!!


Oh math woes...